para-, par-

Any disturbance of speech, especially the utterance of a vocal sound other than the one desired.

1. In physics, an apparent change in the position of an object when the person looking at the object changes position: Parallax was explained to Mr. Hill's students as the perceptible alteration of a chair, for example, when a person, who is looking at the chair, changes his or her position.
2. In astronomy, the angle between two imaginary lines from two different observation points meeting at a star: A parallax can apply to the angle between two fictitious lines from two different observation points meeting at a celestial body that is used to measure its distance from the Earth.

1. In geometry, relating to or being lines, planes, or curved surfaces that are always the same distance apart and therefore never meet: The notebook that Susan bought had parallel or horizontal lines which helped her do her homework.

Parallel means literally "beside each other".
2. Relating to two things that are comparable because they are similar and share many characteristics: The two parallel events were both concerts and took place at the same time of day.

Something or someone that possesses the property of being analogous to another thing or person: Shirley was certainly a parallel to her sister who looked exactly like her because she had the same eye and hair color, stature, and personality.

A polyhedron consisting of six faces that are parallelograms: A parallelepiped can be a solid figure. like a cuboid, that has six sides that are a quadrilateral whose opposite sides are both parallel and equal in length

1. In writing, the deliberate repetition of particular words or sentence structures for effect: For rhetorical effect, John used repetitions of syntactic structures in consecutive sentences.
2. In philosophy, the philosophical theory that mind and body do not interact: Parallelism relates to following separate parallel tracks, without any relationship of cause and effect existing between the two.

To make or place parallel to: The doctors parallized the indications of the illnesses of the various patients and decided that the symptoms were those of the dangerous virus.

A four-sided plane figure in which both pairs of opposite sides are parallel and of equal length, and the opposite angles are equal: A square is a parallelogram, even when it is tilted to one side, and as long as the sides are parallel to each other and are of the same lengths.

To draw conclusions or to reason falsely about a given set of beliefs which do not follow good reasoning.

1. False reasoning, involving self-deception.
2. Perverted logic or reasoning in speaking in which the idea that is next in the chain of thought is suppressed and replaced by another that is related to it.